WW welcomes letters to the editor via mail, e-mail or fax. Letters must be signed by the author and include the author's street address and phone number for verification. Preference will be given to letters of 250 words or less. Go To The Head Of The Class Thank you for the excellent piece of investigative reporting done by Nigel Jaquiss ["Head of the Class," WW, Sept. 8. 1999]. One wonders at the lack of responsibility shown by the Portland School Board in recently presenting superintendent Canada with a $15,000 bonus while surely knowing of this information. Shouldn't they protect the state and school district in such a situation? The School Board presented its bonus to the superintendent without a word to the public regarding problems with a recently appointed administrator. Nor did they reveal questions of finance. They mentioned only that some goals had not been completely met. They seem to be grievously remiss. The article points out several serious situations where there may be questions resulting in possible charges of misuse of funds, diversion of funds, inappropriate professional behavior, possible intimidation, and civil-rights issues. What more did the School Board need? Willamette Week performed a great service in alerting the public. Jaquiss deserves the highest credit. Please keep us completely informed on this situation within the school district. Pam Porter Southwest Texas Street Go To The Principal's Office Linda Harris is an exemplary educator and leader and is most deserving of her promotion to Portland Public Schools Assistant Superintendent ["Head of the Class," WW, Sept. 8, 1999]. Many of us had the privilege of working with Ms. Harris for over 10 years and have seen the lives of a great many children vastly improved because of her tireless efforts. Linda's pervading attitude is that all children can be successful--that is the most powerful message of her legacy, and what the district is wisely harnessing. The suggestion that the troubles at Woodlawn were due to the request of an audit is, at best, laughable, and at worst, has resulted in an article which takes pot shots at one of this country's finest educators. Most of us were unaware of the audit until reading your article. We were surprised to see Woodlawn referred to as "one of Portland's worst schools." Our successes under Ms. Harris' leadership are well-known and documented: our acclaimed African Dance Troupe; math achievement in the top fifth of the city; selection as one of the seven High Performance Learning Centers in Oregon and California; and a $100,000 grant for our school community-garden classroom, to name a few. You quote Linda Harris as saying, "Success for Woodlawn is all I have ever wanted." We know that to be true, and in that spirit we carry on. We are confident that in her new position she will continue to help bring success to Portland schools. Tom Blakely   Franki Boehs Jackie Brown   Delores Fry Beth Bull   Shawn Garnett Willene Cain   Jill Griffith Cindy DiCenzo   Bette Johnsrud Jan Gillespie   Sarah Lofthouse Amy Jackson   Terry McKelvey Penny Larsen   Marcia Miller Rolia Manyongai   Rose Palmer Lisa Newlyn   Candace Peters Faith Ramage   Licia Seaman Carol Ramsey   Kelly Shea Anne Shalas   Sonja Taylor Judi Soloway   Robert Tourtillot Fran Vorberg     Portland Hate Crimes Hurt Us All Although I agree with Eric Carter that laws, such as those for hate crimes, should not punish someone because of his or her thoughts or beliefs [Letters, WW, Sept. 15, 1999], there is an aspect of hate crimes that may warrant punishment beyond what is usual for assaults or murders. A hate crime is more than a crime against an individual; it is a terroristic threat against a specific segment of the society. For example, if some white supremacists lynch a black man, hanging his body in the town square, this is a heinous act of violence against an individual--i.e., torture and murder--but it is also an act of terrorism designed to instill fear by using the victim as an example, threatening, "This is what we will do to your kind." Using laws against hate crimes, we collectively reply, "Not in our civilized society." Sandra Shaw Southwest 48th Avenue - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published September 29, 1999